Control Alt Country Delete

Think about the last album you loved. Once, those songs were nothing. Ideas on scraps of paper and half-formed, fuzzy melodies in someone's head. Over time and many rehearsals they grew, molted, spread out, and eventually became those dozen or so songs. But what if a band only had a day to write and record an album? Romantica answers that question on Control Alt Country Delete, recorded on March 23, 2009, when a stroke of bad luck forced the band to kill a day post-SXSW.

Most people think "killing a day" means drinking beers near a body of water. Hardly anyone thinks, "We should record an album," but here's the result in all its inexact, rough-hewn splendor. Lead singer Ben Kyle's voice, as always, will get you swooning, the album is positively bathed in pedal steel, and the guitar work is at once precious and melancholy. The songs deal with the usual Romantica subjects of God, religion, women, and guilt. But what's thrilling about Control (perhaps ironically, considering the title) is the mistakes and missteps: Kyle flubbing his cue multiple times during "These Things Are Too Beautiful," or the beginning of "My Love, My Heart," in which the band argues about the direction of a song and one member claims to have been asleep during previous discussions.

The real stunner is left for the end, however, with "Goodnight Austin City Lights," an epic seven-minute love note and "Dear John" letter to the city. Kyle calls out the keys before each change, and instead of sounding intrusive or unprofessional, it becomes part of the song's fabric. CACD is an album that, given the circumstances, could seem like a fun, one-off experiment. But in the exceptionally capable hands of Romantica, it's as strong as anything the band's done to date. (There's a more formal studio album already in the pipeline, set for a June release.)